Family recalls horror after being hit on Indiana 23

August 21, 2006|TOM MOOR Tribune Staff Writer

SOUTH BEND -- As another school year came to a close last spring, Jeff and Jamie Clifton and their five children decided it was time to celebrate. They left their 28th Street home just northeast of town and piled into the family's minivan -- seven in all -- and headed to Kroger to stock up on the essential ingredients for a successful barbecue. Corn on the cob, hot dogs, pop -- the works. "It was a beautiful day," Jamie recalled of that late afternoon on June 2. But it was to quickly turn gloomy. Heading northeast on Indiana 23 near University Park Mall, Jeff maneuvered his minivan into position to take a left turn onto Hickory Road before entering the Kroger parking lot. Jeff said he looked north up Indiana 23 and didn't see a car in sight. But as he turned the minivan toward Hickory Road, he said a car going south on Indiana 23 appeared out of nowhere and crashed into the side of the van. The impact knocked the minivan into a grassy area on the side of the road, more than 30 feet from where the collision occurred. "They hit around the back tire area of the car, and we almost toppled over," Jeff said. Three of the Cliftons' children were whisked away in ambulances to Memorial Hospital, some with serious injuries. Two and half months later, two of the children are still making frequent visits to the hospital, the family is feeling the crunch financially, and haunting memories still linger, they said during an interview last week. But everyone is alive. The Clifton's three school-age children were healthy enough to start the school year earlier this week at Muessel Primary in South Bend. At the scene Jeff said he doesn't remember everything about the crash because "it happened so fast." But he does remember what was on his mind: How are the kids? Jeff suffered a broken toe, and Jamie had whiplash and numerous cuts on her body, but they weren't hurt badly enough not to think fast and get out of the car quickly. "I didn't have time to panic," Jeff said. Jeff, 29, a Clay High School graduate, was able to exit the minivan through his door, while Jamie climbed out through her window. "We went around the car to check on each one of the kids to see how they were doing," Jamie said. Eight-year-old Sidney and 10-year-old Liam -- who were sitting in the far back seat -- were in bad shape. Sidney had blood pouring out of her mouth, Jeff said, while Liam was unconscious after his head hit a window hard enough to break it. Jamie said Liam had a mixture of blood and milk from the groceries covering his face. "I thought, 'Why is his blood white,' " said Jamie, 28, formerly of Mishawaka. The two had to be extricated from the vehicle, as police peeled back the back part of the minivan. The three younger children in the middle seat -- Colm, 7 months, Aislinn, 3, and Danil, 5 -- fared much better. Danil bit his tongue, but that was the only injury any of them suffered. "If they were in the back seat, it would have been much worse for them," Jamie said. Police at the scene said speed was likely a factor in the crash. Capt. Tim Spencer of the Mishawaka Police Department, a member of the St. Joseph County Fatal Alcohol Crash Team, said Wednesday they are still waiting for toxicology reports back to decide whether charges will be filed on the driver of the other vehicle. The Cliftons were all wearing their seat belts. Hospital visits Liam, a fourth-grader at Muessel, suffered serious head trauma and a cracked pelvis. He was on a ventilator for six days and was put into an induced coma. "His whole head was tore up from the accident," Jeff said. "He knocked his head through the window, and the safety glass doesn't break easy." Liam and Sidney, a third-grader, each spent three weeks at Memorial Hospital and three weeks at St. Vincent's Children's Hospital in Indianapolis. Liam has suffered the most. "He's not quite the same," Jamie said. "He's regressed a few years. Before, he didn't talk to anyone, and now he talks to everyone. And he laughs all the time, sometimes for no reason." The sad thing, Jeff says, is Liam moved up from special education classes to regular classes at the end of last school year, which was part of the reason they decided to have a barbecue. For the first time in awhile, he didn't have to attend summer school. His parents said he already was suffering from a communication disorder. Now he has to continue attending the special education classes. The family is hoping over time that Liam will improve. Sidney, meanwhile, sustained a pelvic fracture, broken leg, bruised spinal cord, a snapped femur, and she bit her tongue so hard it knocked out a tooth. She is forced to use a walker around the house and a wheelchair at school. "Her femur is healing fine, but she still doesn't have much feeling in her legs," Jamie said. "She can tell you're touching her, but she has very little feeling in her feet. She can't tell she's putting her feet down. "But considering we didn't think she'd walk again, she's doing pretty good." "It's been tough on Sidney, especially when she sees the kids running around outside and she's in a wheelchair," Jamie continued. Moving on Jeff said the family is trying to put the crash behind them -- although that's been tough. "I'm ready to forget about what happened," he said. "I want everything to get back to normal. I'm tired of thinking of doctors, police reports and insurance. "The kids are trying to put it behind them, too." Financially, the family has struggled. The family's X-rays cost $15,000 alone, and the cost of gas during trips to Indianapolis were high. Hoosier Health Wise paid for the family's hospital bills, but over time, the Cliftons will have to pay some of that money back. Jeff and Jamie spent most of the summer between Indianapolis and Plymouth, where Jeff's mom watched the three youngest children while they were in Indianapolis with Liam and Sidney. That forced them to miss a lot of work while they took care of their children's health needs. But the two just recently started working again. Jeff starts work this week at Deluxe Sheet Metal in South Bend, while Jamie will continue her job for Holy Cross Services at Saint Mary's College. The kids, meanwhile, are doing better. Sidney and Liam both have to attend physical therapy classes three times a week. "We're trying to figure out how to cram all that therapy in with school," Jeff said. And in the process, trying to learn how to move on with their lives. It's been a long summer for the family, and they still have a few more hurdles to climb in the future. But they're together. Staff writer Tom Moor:tmoor@sbtinfo.com(574) 235-6187